Maxence Lacroix and Jean-Philippe Mateta have finally turned Crystal Palace’s France call-up pride into World Cup minutes.
Crystal Palace’s official player tracker confirmed that Lacroix completed the full 90 minutes and Mateta came off the bench late as France beat Norway 4-1 in Boston.
The result sealed top spot in Group I and extended France’s perfect group-stage record.
The wider match belonged to Ousmane Dembele, whose first-half hat-trick drove France clear. Reuters reported that France advanced to the round of 32 as group winners after a dominant display against a rotated Norway side.
Palace Pair Finally Get Their World Cup Moment
For Palace, the detail sits in the minutes rather than the scoreline.
Lacroix’s start gave him a valuable tournament rhythm test inside one of the strongest defensive squads in the competition, while Mateta replacing Kylian Mbappe in the closing stages underlined how far his reputation has travelled.
Read Crystal Palace had already framed this as a waiting game when Lacroix and Mateta were pushing for their first France minutes against Iraq. That question now has its answer.
Both players are officially part of France’s knockout-stage campaign.
It also sharpens Pierre Sage’s summer picture. Two key Palace figures are gaining elite knockout exposure, but every extra round also extends the physical load before pre-season planning begins in South London.
For Lacroix and Mateta, this was not just a late group-stage footnote. It was the moment their World Cup stopped being about squad status and became about actual involvement.
